• Communities as decision makers (not merely as suppliers for tourists): In many responsible tourism programmes the role of local communities are limited merely as suppliers of goods and services to the tourists and hotels. In our programmes local communities are empowered to take decisions which affect them.
• Benefit sharing with local communities: We promote ‘Not for profit travel’, but at the same time ensures a fair share of benefits for everybody involved in its activities (value chain), including the holistic development of local communities who are not directly involved in tourism.
• Supplementary income for communities: Tourism is seen as an alternative to many of the crises such as crises in the agrarian sector etc. This is not advisable because it is already proven that tourism is one of the most vulnerable economic activities. In this context we consider hosting travellers as an additional income along with farming with very minimal or zero investment.
• Environmental conservation and enhancement: The conservation and enhancement of environment is an integral part of any tourism development. Community involvement in tourism offers a great deal of environment protection and enhancement where protecting the environment goes hand-in-hand with protecting the future livelihoods of local communities.
• Placing local people at the centre of cultural exchange
• Tourism not a development model but a facilitator

Community based tourism is a mode of travel where local communities are both the central decision makers and the main financial beneficiaries of tourism. Because it infuses local stakeholders with both autonomy and the resources necessary to act on local concerns, the heart of community based tourism is about social and economic empowerment.

At Kabani, we offer responsible tourism tour by integrating local communities and businesses into our network of partners. These programs include the creation of rural micro enterprises, organic farming, waste management, conservation and enhancement of natural resources. We offer training and awareness programs to the villagers and the small entrepreneurs to enhance their capacity to meet the challenges in tourism. These programmes ensure the social and economic empowerment of the communities as well as the quality of service offered to our guests.

We have been working with farming and coastal communities of India to set up their own tourism programs. These efforts have been offering an authentic experience to the guests and considerable economic and other benefits to the host communities.

In these partnerships, the capital investment of the villagers is kept as low as possible in order to reduce the dependence over tourism. Farmers’ homes are developed as home stays so it does not cause any extra investment or burden to the villagers. The tourism business is counted as an additional income for the communities and is not the main source of income for them, considering its unpredictable nature. All these partnerships are not just tourism programs, but addresses holistic village development and related subjects.